Mixed Category Score Index

If you still need access to lookup tables from the former MCSI-2 system CLICK HERE.

MCSI - New Version 14

What is MSCI?
MCSI is an acronym for Mixed Category Score Index, which is a scoring system used to allow different categories of full bore shooting in Australia to compete directly with each other. It enables scores from any of Target Rifle (TR), F-Class Standard (FS), F/TR Class (FT), and F-Class Open (FO) to be converted to a common score index (MCSI) so that they can be compared equitably regardless of the differences in allowed equipment specifications.

Why is it needed?
Starting with the introduction of F-Class in the late 1990s, there has been a problem at many levels of full bore competition where it has been difficult to include all the classes in various events and awards because of small numbers in some categories, making them economically unviable and/or too difficult organisationally to cater for. This has often left the minority categories with a sense of being less valued than for example TR, which has usually had the numbers to participate in everything. Also, as the various F-Class categories have grown, it has been difficult for small clubs to field teams in Pennant and similar team competitions, again causing either clubs or individuals to be excluded. The MCSI system has been developed primarily to allow more individuals and clubs to be included in events and awards that have hitherto been enjoyed only by the mainstream participants of full bore. Previously it has mostly helped the F-Class categories as they started out, but increasingly it is helping TR, particularly at club team level where F-Class numbers are growing.

How can it compare the merits of scores achieved with significantly different equipment?
In short it doesn't try to compare the merits between equipment categories. Rather, it rates scores according to how good they are compared to their peers i.e. others in the same class using the same equipment. So for example in a 10 shot shoot at Queens level, an average TR score is around 49.5 to 50.4. This gets an MCSI score of about 87. If at the same event an F-Std shooter gets the same MCSI score of about 87, that indicates they also got very close to the average Queens level score, in their case for F-Std, which is around 58.3 to 59.2. This general relationship holds for all classes at all performance levels.

How are average, poor, good etc. scores for each class determined?
Scores statistics are determined from Queens event results. In the case of this version MCSI-14, all Queens ranges shot in calendar 2014 were used.

How accurate is MCSI?
The MCSI is considered accurate enough for the purpose for which it is designed, which is for low level team competition, and for miscellaneous award purposes. It is not intended to be used as a replacement for scoring of ranges and aggregates in individual events, nor is it needed for team events confined to one equipment class. It is ideal for mixed class Pennant teams, and for miscellaneous awards (e.g. veterans, junior, ladies) at prize-meetings. See below for a detailed description of how the MCSI lookup tables were derived.

2. Choose the table for the correct number of shots
Tables are available for all classes for 7, 10, 15 and 20 shot shoots (available for download below).

3. Looking up MCSI scores

Above is part of a lookup table. The example used is for a 10 shot shoot :

TR score of 50.5 converts to 50+5=55, look up 55 in the TR column, and the equivalent MSCI score is in the next column to the right : 88.4
F-Std score of 58.6 converts to 58+6=64, look up 64 in the F-Std column, and the equivalent MSCI score is : 91.4
etc.

4. Using MCSI as the basis of a handicap system

For miscellaneous awards and even for team shoots, where you aren't playing for sheep-stations, the MCSI system can be used on its own to decide results. However it is particularly well suited to being used as the underlying basis for handicap events. Most handicap systems take a fixed number (say 5) of the most recent scores by an individual, discard the top and bottom scores, take the average of what's left, and use that as the basis of the handicap system. The MCSI system lends itself very well to this because if the scores are firstly converted to MCSI, the handicap system can treat them all identically. And further, shooters can swap between disciplines from event to event, and not require separate handicaps for each discipline. Its becoming quite common particularly for F-Class shooters to change equipment.

MCSI-14 lookup tables for 7, 10, 11, 15, 20 and 30 shot shoots are included below. If you
have special requirements e.g. specific ranges, different number of shots, or using
the wrong target for a particular range, these can be produced also, but may incur a
small charge. To request non-standard tables,
E-mail
the author. Note that because the
statistics for this system have been collected only between 300yds and 1000yds, MCSI figures
for distances outside of this span will be less reliable.

Changing from the former MCSI-2 System to MCSI-14
If you are currently using the older MSCI-2 (Version 09A) lookup tables, then you may wish to change to the new MCSI-14 system, particularly if you need tables for F?TR class.

If you have developed a handicap system based on MCSI-2 scores, be aware that a move to MCSI-14 will require handicaps to be recalculated. This is done by taking all the raw scores used to calculate the current handicaps, and looking up their MCSI-14 scores, then recalculating the new handicaps from the MCSI-14 scores.

HOW THE MCSI TABLES WERE DERIVED

Note that for brevity, this explanation is pitched at the mathematically inclined, so if you don't want to wade through it, ask your local maths expert to look over it, and hopefully assure you that there is a modicum of logic about it!

1. Score data was collected from all Queens shoots (not leadups) held around Australia during calendar 2014. All classes were represented at all events apart from the NT Queens where F/TR was not offered.

2. For every shoot (range), scores were converted by adding Vs or Xs to the points, then the median converted scores found.

3. For each of these median scores a "synthetic" standard deviation of the MOA of shots from the middle of the target was calculated. This was done using a simple Excel macro application devised specifically for the purpose. It uses an initial guess of MOA SD and iterates until the SD is accurate to less than 0.001 MOA. It simulates "firing" up to 2000 shots for each iteration. Each shot lands neatly in its own uniformly allocated area under the probability curve and is scored according to the target rings for that distance. For anyone interested, this application can be supplied on request.

4. These MOA SDs were then compared between all the equipment categories, at all distances. The following graph shows the ratios of these summarised SDs to the TR SD for each distance. This was used to determine how much difference in accuracy there is between the categories depending on the distance of the shoot.

5. Previous versions of the MCSI have produced specific tables for each metric and imperial distance in common use around Australia. However for this version it has been decided in the interests of simplicity to ignore these differences, and adopt an "all-distances" approach by using average SDs over all distances.

6. The overall SD ratios arrived at from the 2014 data are as follows :

F-Std to TR

0.725

F-Open to TR

0.533

F/TR to TR

0.623

7. It was necessary to define a scoring range for MCSI, and for simplicity, it was decided to use 10 points per shot as a the maximum achievable (by any class). So the maximum MCSI points for a 10 shot shoot is 100, and so on.

8. Because the MCSI system is designed to compensate classes for being less accurate, and vice versa, it was decided to choose the class that is most challenged by the size of its target rings, and base the MCSI scoring scale on the scores of that class. It is apparent from the Queens 2014 performance data that F-Std shooters will find it hardest to achieve their maximum score with the current ICFRA target. Therefore the MSCI awards the maximum score to F-Std possibles, so a 60.10 for 10 shots will score 100.0, 90.15 for 15 shots will score 150.0 etc

9. All F-Std scores that are not possibles are converted pro-rata from the possible score down to 0.0.

10. Because the subtended angles of the target scoring rings vary between distances, and the tables are to be used for all targets and distances, it is necessary to decide on ring sizes which approximately represent all situations. An analysis shows that the LR target used at 800m distance is closest to the average subtended angle of the scoring rings. Therefore it was decided to use the LR target at 800m for all calculations to convert scores between equipment categories. This does compromise accuracy of the system to a small extent, but the alternative of having different lookup tables for every distance meteric and imperial was considered excessive for what is after all just an approximation anyway.

11. For each F-Std score from possible down to about* 61% of possible, an MOA SD is calculated.

12. Each of these F-Std MOA SDs is divided by the appropriate SD ratio as defined in 6. above, to give equivalent SDs for the other 3 equipment categories of TR, F/TR and F-Open.

13. The equivalent SDs are in turn converted back to F-Std scores by interpolation, and a MCSI value obtained from that using the same factor as used in 9. above